What were his motivations?Did he do it for the attention?Was it the meds he was on?Is playing for Parcells THAT bad?

And, finally, this one:

Was it the pressure (and result) of being the fans' -- and absolutely the media's -- No. 1-ranked "Bad Guy" that drove him to it?

I'm going to predict this: Fan and media treatment of T.O. will lighten up substantially after this. (Well, maybe except in Philly.)

Update: I'm going to point to the Deadspin coverage, which includes a Comments section to the story that is absolutely NOT for you if you see absolutely no humor in this. But humor is also a way to deal with or filter the news; this just about covers it.

This is a great example of a breaking-news story where bloggers are ahead of mainstream media in terms of offering opinion/reaction/analysis... and blog COMMENTERS are even ahead of bloggers themselves.

When I wrote the Quickie, I always loved it when a story broke in the morning, because I could be first on the site with an opinion take -- even if it was only a place-holder until the appropriate sport columnist came in with a longer opinion. I always felt like I was adding value and taking full advantage of the medium -- even if the opinion was "insta-gut" or half-baked. Readers want their opinion as fast as the story itself is posted.

Mainstream media (even online) is still trying to catch up to consumer appetite -- that's why blogs are so effective (and why comments on blogs are even more effective: The opinion of many, instantly, being even more effective than the opinion of one, instantly.)

That's a lot of "inside baseball" -- the story itself (and everyone's reactions) remains jaw-droppingly fascinating. I mean, of all the possible athletes, it just HAD to be T.O., didn't it?

This looks like a story from the Onion or SportsPickle or something. There's no way this can be for real. A lot of people will be saying that he did it just for attention, but this is a lot more serious than that. I hope he gets the help he needs and gets healthy.

...and of course, I broke it first on danshanoff.blogspot.com. I'm awesome.

In all seriousness, I'm guessing he's what one would call clinically depressed. What some people don't understand is that having fame, riches, etc, can actually make depression worse. Because first you're depressed. Then you're like, I shouldn't be depressed, I'm rich and famous. But the fact that you're rich and famous and depressed makes you even more depressed. And if being rich and famous can't make you non-depressed, then really, what can? At least poor non-famous depressed people can cling to the idea that if they had money/fame they'd be ok.

"I watched "Sports Century" about T.O. last week, it was truely heartbreaking, and one thing I noticed is that Terrell never had any real way to express himself"

What a load of crap, he has expressed himself more than any other player in the NFL (probably sports all together). I don't want the guy to die, but I'm not jumping on the "lets all love T.O." bandwagon either, I hated his ass before, and I still do.

And football is not better off with T.0. football's media machine is, but not the game itself. Maybe this will force him to retire and go into male modeling or something.

I once saw a story where they talked to TO's grandmother, who I believed raised him. He had a really unhappy childhood and this act he has put on for the past few years was his way to make up for being too quiet and introverted. But I guess he couldnt keep up the "TO" personna and he cracked. Underneath he has always been that introverted kid with emotional problems. I think this is serious and hope he can recover.

I gotta tell you, this might go down as the single most bizarre sports story in the last five years. When does Owens' get his own sit down (again) with Barbara Walters, to tell us how everything gets blown out of proportion, how no one understands him (except Rosenhaus of course), how the media has portrayed him badly, and how his NEXT book will clear everything up...

By the way, one of the commenters on Deadspin made a good point: First Alexander (Madden Cover), now T.O. - Wasn't he on the ESPN 2k5 cover?

Maybe there's a 1-year delayed reaction.

Honestly, I'm done talking about T.O. If he was serious about ending it all, he'd have just gotten a gun (not hard for someone with as much money as he's got) and done it right. Popping pills and then TELLING YOUR PUBLICIST just reeks of a P.R. stunt.

I watched his “sports century” episode the other day while you were working late… It was heartbreaking. Teenage mother, 3 other siblings, sent away to live with his grandmother in the DEPTHS of poverty in Alabama, no father figure. Granny tried, but it takes a man to raise men… he shut himself off to the rest of the world until his senior (that’s right, SENIOR) year in high school, when he started playing football. Loves his grandma like Jesus, she caught Alzheimer’s disease and has no idea who he is now… she never even saw him make it big. Every time he talks about her you can see it killing him that she can’t understand.

You know the first jersey I EVER owned? (never had a Jordan jersey… never even had a Montana or Charlie Ward’s # 17 at FSU) T.O.’s # 81 when he played in San Fran… I remember watching him play in that playoff game against Green Bay and knowing that I was watching history. I remember his 20 catch game, when everyone knew it was okay for Rice to retire, cause T.O. was the man. That coupled with the fact that it seemed like he wore every emotion he had right out there on his sleeve for everyone to see made him one of my favorites, now he might end up in a mental hospital and in my mind, all because he got dealt a bad hand… no one ever showed him how to be a man.

He disappointed me the last couple years. It seemed like the same old “ME, ME,ME” bullshit that we see way to much of in sports these days. I didn’t get it.. no one did. Terrell Owens, for everything it seems he let out, I guess he held on to two more things…. And in the end we quit on him, we couldn’t see ourselves in his antics and his seemingly endless self promotion left a bad taste in our mouths. So we (the fans, the media, ect..) quit, and in the end there was Terrell, left all alone again to try and figure it out… when no one ever showed him how to in the first place.

I think this is a serious problem. T.O. is a human being with a disease. Im sure he goes through very high high's and very low low's. He must battle depression when he is at his lowest. He is the Best, if not the most exciting WR/Player in the NFL. As a receiver he can do it all, (run routes, great hands, speed, strength, and Height). I wish him a speedy recovery and insight onto a healthier, happier life. I do NOT believe for one second this is a ploy for more attention, he can get all the attention he wants on the field.

Does this surprise me? No. Obviously no one wants to see anyone hurt themself in that manner. But suicide, in itself, is the most selfish of acts. And sure, his track record shows that he's the most selfish player in the NFL (if not in all of sports). But he's also one of the best. Something is obviously wrong with this guy. I wonder if he knows how well he's got it. How many of us would love to be able to have the skills he has? To be able to play a game for a living? I hope he realizes his life isn't worth taking. He needs to reconnect with real people. Not the hangers-on who want shit from him. And certainly not the Rosenhaus's of the world. Maybe he'd realize his life is pretty damn good. Then again, it is TO we're talking about.

Hospitals send people home as fast as they can anymore for liability issues. Suicide or anything.

I'm not surprised his publicist called 911. Athletes, celebrities, political figures...their publicist is practically glued to them..keep them organized and going..probably the one person TO sees/speaks to more than anyone else. So not surprising that she is the one he called or the one that found him.

I have a feeling that being one of the most hated people in professional sports really takes a toll on someone like T.O.

I have always thought of him as someone who is very insecure. He just comes off as someone who tries very hard to give off this aura of invincibility but really what he is showing is a very vulnerable side - and this almost confirms it.

I really think that the TO machine actually took over Owens himself and I just hope that he can get the help he needs.

I'm not on the lets all give TO a hug bandwagon but I'd also never wish mental illness or suicide on anyone so lets just hope he gets all the help that he needs.

My first thought was: "Well, he didn't succeed, which would be really the only way to know whether this was some sort of attention stunt."

Although, what percentage of suicide attempts really boil down to cries for attention/help? (I'm thinking here of the story that Elton John once tried the gas-oven death--but had a window open in the room)

I think it's really telling that the mumblings I heard around me in class were of the "crap, now this is all we're hear about for at least a week" variety.

blah blah blah.Yes, suicide is a terrible thing and no one should ever be pushed to that. So IF this is for real, I hope he gets the help he needs. But that is a big IF.

Here is a guy who has done nothing but stunts to grab attention. I don't care about his upbringing - how many other athletes can we point to that have had terrible pasts, yet manage to overcome it and not pull the stunts that this guy pulls?! Every Sunday on NFL Countdown, or weekly on SportsCenter, we watch tear-jerkers on athletes in every sport. But no one gets the exceptions and the attention that this guy gets. All he wants is attention, and again we are giving it to him. I heard enough of his crap when he was in San Fran and even more of it in Philly. God, one more shot of situps in his front yard and I will throw my television out the window. This guy is egotistical, obnoxious, coniving, mean-spirited, and selfish. He is a cancer to any team that takes him. Can't he just shut up and do his job.

Feel bad that he feels he must do all this for attention. Or feel bad that he may have actually tried to kill himself.But please, PLEASE, don't try to convince anyone that we should be sympathetic towards his upbringing and his life. He's not the only one. Get a therapist and get over it.

I never would've guessed that this board would have so many emo people on it. Let me preface this by saying that I'm not from Philly, and I'm not an Eagles fan.

Paul-I watched "Sports Century" about T.O. last week, it was truely heartbreaking, and one thing I noticed is that Terrell never had any real way to express himself.

Are you serious?!? Do you need a kleenex and a box of bon bons? I'm not saying that it's easy to be rich and famous, but being rich and famous does not afford you additional sympathy. He should be a man, and quit his crying.

Ryan g-no one should take any ammount of delight in this situtation... even phily fans.

Uhmmm, when someone is as big of an asshole as TO is, I'm going to take delight in their problems. I know people who have been through far worse, who didn't think about offing themselves. First off, I think he's an asshole. Second, I think he's an attention whore. Third, I think he's a whiny little bitch.

What. The. Hell. I don't know what to make of this. I think the question of whether he's really depressed or whether this is an attention ploy might not necessarily be either/or. T.O. very obviously craves attention, craves celebrity, craves people thinking that he's in the right, that he's the best, etc. However, people like that can and do suffer from depression and other forms of mental illness, and if the stories about him are true -- about Terrell, the man, being wholly different from TO, the self-made media image -- I can see this being a combination of something being wrong and him trying to get attention and sympathy for it. I never put any stock in those Terrell-is-not-TO stories, but who knows.

This is CRAZY. I do think 35 Vicodin is more than an attention-getting ploy (no one knows about those more than Owens, and he knows that a Sharpie or crunches in the driveway will cover that), even if it's not a 100% dedicated attempt to end his life. I think he needs help, I hope he gets it, and I hope he's alright. That boy's got issues.

I don't think this is a ploy for attention at all. If there is one thing that has never been lacking, it attention on T.O. If he speaks there are 20 mics in front of him to capture it. He's one of the most covered athletes in sports. Look at the hamstring saga in the preseason. Hines Ward and Steve Smith were also nursing sore hammys, but all you heard about was Owens. He can always get attention, so there would be no need for this ploy

I'm with the guys saying they are not sure if they believe the reports or not. It just seems to surreal, like something Michael Jackson would do (or a million depressed people who aren't famous)

If he really took 35 pills, obviously, it was a suicide attempt. It would not be an "attention grab." There is no PR motive in suicide, dudes. Overdosing on pills could end your life. END YOUR FUCKING LIFE! A lot of people have considered it, but only the severely depressed actually act on it. The depression has to overwhelm any sense of rationality, for one to attempt it.And as any suicide attemptee, he needs help.

But, it does not make him a better person. I don't even think it makes him a more sympathetic figure. Obviously, on the football field, if a player is in the opposing jersey, they are not likely to be the object of sympathy. Certainly, if they have as much history as TO for being a jerk, they are only going to be the object of derision. The media may lay off him, but the fans won't. I'm with Bryan on this one.

But who knows, if it's true, we lkely won't be seeing TO on the field again anytime soon, if ever. Seriously, the dude needs to get his head on straight, and deal with it in a serious way. If he comes back, he will be subject to the most armchair psychoanalysts of any person, anywhere. Every move, every gesture, every dropped pass (ooh, I hope that doesn't hurt his psyche) and touchdown (oh, he must not be depressed right now), will be psychoanalyzed, even more than Artest, even more than Kobe. And unlike Kobe, I don't know that TO has the fortitude to play through it, to block out what people say and think about him.

The local Dallas news station is reporting that he took the pills at 7:30 and his publicist called 911 at 7:45.

If you really wanted to kill yourself you don't call your publicist 5 minutes after you take the pills. And if you took the pills and then had second thoughts, you don't call your publicist, YOU call 911.

So, before this stunt I was hoping to sell my Eagles-Cowboys Oct. 8th tickets for about 300-500 a piece (not such great seats), but now, I think they're down to face value. I could have really used that money, but he screwed me, again.Damn he's selfish.

On a side note, the value of the other Cowboys offensive players on my fantasy team just went up...trade for Jason Witten, anybody? anybody?

All I know is, if every movement I made was in the media, if I could never get away, I'd want to kill myself too.

He brought it on himself with all the attention he wanted...but he probably underestimated the power and reach of today's media. I buy that T.O. would be dumb enough to miss the point that once you put yourself in the spotlight of the media, you don't get out until you die.

Lesson: Stay the hell away from the media's attention, if at all possible.

Listen I am an Eagles fan. I am not happy with how TO and Eagles season ended. I blame a lot of that on TO and som eparts on the Eagles Players and Organization with how it was all handeled. With That being said, I hope TO is ok, and that if he did indeed try to commit suicide He gets some help. My thoughts are, 1) he has never been able to express himself PROPERLY; and 2) that he wants to be liked by everyone and the last year and a half of constant hating from Coast (San Fran) to Coast (Philly) and now in som epart in Dallas has taken a toll on him mentaily.

Add to the fact the one place he could perform, i.e the football field is been stripped away (albeit a short time) with the hand injury.

I hope he gets better, and gets the help he needs. But I hope he goes to an AFC team. Go Birds!

His publicist found him putting 2 pills in his mouth, not 35. The other 35 just werent there. He could've given them away for all we know. I dont buy it. Sorry for not being all pussified like everyone else on here.

Jesus, people on this blog need to lighten the F up. Could you take yourselves any more seriously?

I was surprised when I saw the headline plastered on ESPN.com, but that quickly dissolved into total apathy. I don't wish death on him, and he needs to get help, and that's all I want to hear about him.

He has spent most of his career making himself standout at the expense of others. I now have such a distaste for his antics, I doubt I'll be able to watch the 30 minutes of SportsCenter devoted to him, the Outside the Lines review, Jeremy Schaap nasally describing his pain, and the Sports Reporters clucking about it. Just let him go, and let him get help.

that is an extremely odd thought considering there is overwhelming evidence that 'money does not buy happiness' or have you never heard that saying?

Of course I have. I was speaking from TO's (or any other rich/famous/successful depressive) perspective. Remember, people who are depressive are so *despite* the reasons that make others happy. They have great families, or successful careers, and they're still depressed. Which, of course, is counter to what everybody says about what is supposed to make you happy. Which of course makes them more depressed.

For you or I, sure, we know that money can't buy you love (or happiness). But as I was trying to put across (and you missed entirely), if you have everything and you're still depressed, what else can you do?

Charlie (Seattle) said... I never would've guessed that this board would have so many emo people on it. Let me preface this by saying that I'm not from Philly, and I'm not an Eagles fan.

Paul-I watched "Sports Century" about T.O. last week, it was truely heartbreaking, and one thing I noticed is that Terrell never had any real way to express himself.

Are you serious?!? Do you need a kleenex and a box of bon bons? I'm not saying that it's easy to be rich and famous, but being rich and famous does not afford you additional sympathy. He should be a man, and quit his crying.

Ryan g-no one should take any ammount of delight in this situtation... even phily fans.

Uhmmm, when someone is as big of an asshole as TO is, I'm going to take delight in their problems. I know people who have been through far worse, who didn't think about offing themselves. First off, I think he's an asshole. Second, I think he's an attention whore. Third, I think he's a whiny little bitch.

Men are becoming pussies.

With that additude, I'm sure you will father a son who lets go of his repressed issues by shooting up ahigh school or flying a plane into a building...

Since when did it become "pussy" to express yourself? I think its more pussy to sit back and play the hard ass every chance you get.

It isn't "pussy" to express yourself. It is pussy to whine and cry about every little thing. I am not recommending that you sit back and play the hard ass, I am saying that there is nothing heartbreaking about TO's story, and if you think there is, then you might want to read CNN sometime. It is good to express yourself and I don't want anyone to think that I'm a proponent of bottling everything up in an effort to be manly.

When I say that men are turning into pussies, I am not talking about the stereotypical "manly man" type things. I'm not saying you should beat people up and watch nothing on TV except for sports and Girls Gone Wild ads. I am saying that you shouldn't be a crybaby. If you watch a lot of Oprah, Desperate Housewives, & Tyra...you might have some issues.

This goes for women too, it's not a male/female thing, it's a society thing. Since when does it inspire pity when you're depressed that no one likes you and you can't play football. That sounds like an ordinary day for the majority of High Schoolers. It's just pathetic, and I feel no sympathy. I'll repeat that there are tons of people out there going through much tougher situations, and they deal with it somehow.

Let's not mistake something, Paul. Suicide is selfish, plain and simple. I have experience with this, so don't tell me that I'm unsympathetic. It's selfish, just like TO. This is so in character with him and his persona. He needs to get over himself.If he has problems, than he needs to learn to deal with them - get therapy, stress relief classes, have sex, who knows. God! This guy is such a poor role model it's not even funny. He's a joke. If this isn't real, he's even more of a joke. The situps are getting to his head...

See, this is exactly what's wrong with America today. And I'm not going to go off on some half-cocked political rant, but seriously people...

We're doing exactly what the T.O. Camp is hoping for. This story has become all-consuming for all of us. I'm sure most of the people posting on here (myself included) have spent most of the morning surfing the web, not necessarily looking for T.O. updates, but certainly not passing them when they have become available.

People attempt suicide in this country every day. The only ones who get media coverage are the "famous" ones or the ones who hurt others in their attempts.

And if this all turns out to be a media "Oops" moment, I ASSURE you that Drew Rosenhaus and Owens will find a way to turn Terrell into a sympathetic character by the end of the week.

A question to end on... how many HIPAA violations do you think could be filed on this one? 10? 20?

TO press confrence at 12:30 central time. Drew Rosinhaus, Deion Sanders, and Michael Irvin will all be at TO's house. All the early gossip is that TO will deny an sucicide attempt and it was just a bad reaction to taking medication.

until youve walked a mile in TO's shoes, i dont think its fair to start tearing this guy apart less than 24 hours after an OD attempt. even if it is a "stunt", i would still consider him mentally unhealthy to pull off something of this scale. i hope to God that none of you or anyone close to you ever falls into the throes of depression.

This is getting to be a circus. TO schedules the press conference at 12:30. All the local media rushes to get over to TO's house and now he has stated that he will speak at 2:15 after Bill's press conference.

Wow, T.O. sure picked a likeable group there. Deion needs to shut up and go away. When he left to go play for the Redskins, he lost his Dallas privileges. Go back to pimping your hot dog maker:http://tinyurl.com/qxhgk

Chris Maher said... Yet again T.O. finds himself at the top of every SC broadcast and sports page in the country.

This from .com "It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide".(wow)

paul, did you seriously just compare TO's situation to 9/11?

Try Hooked On Phonics.. it might help you out with the whole reading thing.

My heart isn't exactly bleeding for T.O. either, the point I was trying to make is if you look at Owens' past, you can easily decern where this cry for help (real or fake, its still unhealthy) comes from.

Repressed emotion is dangerous. Thats the point I was trying to make to whoever it was out there calling me a pussy. The Owens circus doesn't belong anywhere in the same conversation with 9/11.

I still don't get how someone who says we are all heartless for not taking what happened to Owens as serious--especially when once again this was nothing more than a media creation and not news--would be thoughtless enough to say to someone that their son will shoot up a high school or crash a plane into a building.

Paul: You're a moron. Hope you didn't cry in your cereal this morning over TO for no reason. Especially when at the end of the day, TO wouldn't care about you if you'd hung yourself with an extension cord because they cancelled Dr. Phil.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.